How Long Should Your Blog Posts Be?

March 6, 2013 / in Blogging / by Mic Johnson

Post written by Mic Johnson,  Blogger | LinkedIn Trainer | WordPress Content Guy | Social Coach | Rational Optimist | Jayhawk Fanatic | Cancer Volunteer

We continue to see more and more companies in Kansas City finally getting on the content marketing bandwagon.

It’s been a slow process for so many to get the ball rolling in this area. Some of that is because of the recession that we’ve been going through. Some of it is fear of the unknown. Some of it is fear about doing something outside of their comfort zone. Some of it is a fear of writing. Some of it is they simply don’t know where to start. And some of it is (sorry, truth hurts) that they are too lazy to start. When we start working with a company to help kick off their blog strategy, one question that always comes up is…

How Long Should Our Blog Posts Be?

It’s a GREAT question that, not surprisingly, doesn’t have an easy answer. But it’s not that difficult of an answer either. 

Look, if you know me, you know that sometimes when I’m passionate about something I can really get going….in person or in my blog writing. But you know what? That’s ok, because (generally) the story I’m sharing is compelling. A couple of my more popular blog posts are also a couple of my longer posts. Take a look at I’m Just Trying To Get Away From People That Suck and Happy Birthday To Me: 41 Pieces Of Advice To My 21 Year Old Self. Long? Yes. Compelling? Absolutely. 

Best selling author Seth Godin takes a different approach (and one I should probably take some lessons from) and writes short, to the point, blog posts regularly on his blog. 

As a general rule, have your blog posts fall somewhere between the 6-10 medium-size paragraph range. But again, that’s only a general rule. You need to go with what feels right to you and to your voice. 

Most importantly, be sure you tell your story in an engaging way that is enjoyable for the reader. Remember, they are taking time out of their day to read what you have to say. Don’t take that for granted. Make it worth their while. Make it an enjoyable break in their day. And give them VALUE. Give them something they can take and use, whether that be in their personal life, professional life, or both. That is, of course, if you want them to keep coming back. 

Finally, we recommend you DON’T SELL on your blog. I always ask people “Who do you know that likes to be sold?” The answer: No one. If you want me to tune you out immediately, start selling me with your blog posts (or any other form of communication, actually.) If you lead with the sale, you’ve already lost me. Instead, EDUCATE me, and let me decide if I want to do business with you.

So the next time you’re writing a blog post, think about what I’ve said here. Blogging should be fun for you and educational for your audience. Don’t stress about how long each blog post is. Instead, make sure it provides value and is entertaining enough to keep your reader’s attention. 

And if you’ve made it this far in my blog post, then I guess I accomplished that. 

As always, thanks for reading, commenting and sharing. It means so much to a small, growing business like ours.

Also, what do you think? Was this helpful? What’s your rule of thumb when blogging?